Zig as the “Kotlin of C” makes it very appealing. Kotlin has seen fantastic adoption in JVM projects because you can convert files one at a time from .java to .kt, with only a modicum of one-time build system shenanigans up front. Then your team can gain experience gradually, fill in missing pieces like linters over time, all without redesigning your software.
What zig offers is even better - because zig included a CC, you can actually reduce complexity with zig by getting a single compiler version for all platforms, rather than a fixed zig + each platform’s cc. And with it, trivially easy cross-platform builds - even with existing C code. That’s cool! Go has excellent cross-compilation, but Go with C, not so much.
Rust is a powerful tool, but it’s a complex ecosystem unto itself - both conceptually and practically. It has great interoperability frameworks, but the whole set of systems comes at a substantial learning cost. Plus, porting an existing software design to Rust can be a challenge. It’s more like the “scala of C” if we’re trying to stretch the analogy past the breaking point.